The million keyword study: AI Overviews cluster by intent

A keyword study run across a million terms settles a recurring argument. AI Overviews are not on every result and not on almost none. They cluster, and the cluster tracks intent rather than topic.

The answer box shows heavily on definitional and how to queries, thins out on comparisons, and is rare on queries with clear commercial or navigational intent. That shape has been stable for months. The full breakdown with the query buckets separated is in this study of one million keywords, and there is a US market version.

What to do with it: keep producing definitional content, but stop expecting all of it to convert as traffic. Its job now is to make you the cited source. Put the commercial weight on the query types the answer box leaves alone.